Apeirogon

This was a tough novel to get through, not because it was badly written (quite the contrary) but because the subject matter made me put the book down every few pages for an emotional breather.

The story itself is based on a true story of two fathers - Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli - who each lost a young daughter due to violence. They each become members of Combatants for Peace, seeking to find common ground through shared tragedy which - they hope - will lead to greater compassion and eventually, perhaps, to that elusive peace.

In form, the novel stands apart. It is not in any chronological order, nor is it in any sort of logical order. Passages of story are interspersed with factual snippets and anecdotes that sometimes are only tangentially connected to the main novel. There are even photos to illustrate parts of the novel. Rami's and Bassam's story also go back and forth in time. Oddly though, you can make sense of the tale, and (mostly) appreciate the excerpts on birds, mathematics, riot-control gas, Mitterrand's last meal, among others.

The writing is beautiful. Even when McCann is describing birds, you just want to settle in to the prose. His narration of the personal tragedies of Rami and Bassam and how they each come to terms with it is deliberate, almost in slow motion when he goes in and out of their anguish. Violence is not white-washed and neither are the injustices.

It is a heavy read - there isn't much levity in the story nor the prose - but the writing is graceful. An article said that the author broke up the passages into 1,001 paragraphs echoing 1,001 Nights (NY Times). I didn't count them and there is nothing said in the author's acknowledgements; the form of the novel did help in breaking up the tragic reality of the story.

The book though, I feel, is about hope, a reminder that as long as there are people like Bassam and Rami who can advocate for peace despite their suffering, there may still be a chance for an end to violence.

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